The Effect of Adhesion on the Rheological and Frictional Behavior of a Confined Lubricant Film

We investigated the rheological and frictional behavior of a model system of lubricated, atomically-smooth, solid surfaces at zero and negative external normal load. The measurements were performed with a surface forces apparatus modified for oscillatory shear. For low deflection amplitudes, and negative loads up to the point when the surfaces jumped apart, the confined liquid layer (0.7 ± 0.2 nm perfluorinated heptaglyme) showed a highly elastic behavior independent of load. In the sliding regime at large amplitudes, the behavior was mostly dissipative but also independent of normal load. The force necessary to separate the surfaces was not affected by any sliding conditions. However, the friction force showed a very pronounced decrease as a consequence of sliding at large amplitudes. Thus, for our system, friction and adhesion are decoupled. We propose a mechanism of in-plane rearrangements of the molecules and explain the shear-induced reduction of friction by the formation of shear-bands.